Here is a visionary and concrete proposal on how humanity can create a truly free and peaceful society without coercion of any kind. A decentralized, networked society of rising collective intelligence that transcends any need for laws, legal codes, lawyers, police, courts, prisons or military force.

It presents the idea of how laws are not only becoming unenforceable, but eventually unnecessary given sufficient forkability, transparency and radical material abundance.

The best way to think of a how a highly peaceful and harmonious society could emerge without a legal code is the concept of Stigmergy.

A school of fish is a good example. Each fish is acting in their own best interest and yet they spontaneously collaborate - creating a collectively intelligent order without orderers, an evolutionary adaptation that serves them well! When you try to punch or harm a school of fish, the school forms a hole immediately where your hand went, allowing the fish to escape your grasp. This is how networks route around damage.

Networks allow human beings to do the same thing!

Sepp Hasslberger's insight:

Paul Hughes describes how an open, radically different society based on peer-to-peer principles could be already in the making...

Buen Vivir is a concept and practice influencing politics and communities across South America. It involves a radically different way of thinking about collective wellbeing and sustainable living.

Gudynas sees Buen Vivir as a new paradigm of social and ecological commons – one that is community-centric, ecologically balanced and culturally sensitive. It’s a vision and a platform for thinking and practising alternative futures based on a “bio-civilisation”.

George Galloway, London, U.K. mayoral candidate who is using block chain technology in running his 2016 campaign, has called for the city to adopt block chain technology to provide full public accountability of government business.

“Since governments spend public funds on shared public resources, the public has a right to transparency,” Galloway said in his prepared remarks.

"Now, for the first time, the radically disruptive technology of block chains can provide a technological backbone for true, 100 percent transparency. Political accountability, it seems, is about to take on a whole new meaning."

"In a word, blockchains make direct democracy possible in ways that were not previously imaginable, and radically empower the public."

Sepp Hasslberger's insight:

Radical transparency for government, starting with local (city) administrations...

Musk’s announcement provides a solution that offers both cheap and unregulated internet, something that does not seem possible within the current internet paradigm. SpaceX is just one of many organizations who are developing creative solutions to the problems caused by internet centralization.

Along with mega corporations like SpaceX, Google and Facebook, independent researchers are also working on solutions, such as mesh networks and WI-Fi sharing systems.

Sepp Hasslberger's insight:

Between the local WiFi networks uniting neighbourhoods and whole cities being developed a bit all over the world, and a satellite based cheap broadband link into the internet, we just might end up with a net that is more resilient in the case of disasters and less open to surveillance, which today is quite ubiquitous...

Between the local WiFi networks uniting neighbourhoods and whole cities being developed a bit all over the world, and a satellite based cheap broadband link into the internet, we just might end up with a net that is more resilient in the case of disasters and less open to surveillance, which today is quite ubiquitous...

Chris Church wanted a factory where you could simply request the resources you needed through the Web. So he started one.

What Church really wanted was for manufacturing to work more like cloud computing, where you can simply request the resources you need through the web. He wanted to be able to upload his designs to a manufacturer, get a quote automatically, and, when the time comes, order a batch of prototypes with a push of a button, instead of having to spend hours and hours going over spreadsheets with sales reps.

That didn’t exist, so, along with electrical engineer Parker Dillmann, he started a factory called MacroFab that lets hardware designers do just that.

...we need a cultural shift which displaces the priority given to work. Jobs and work cannot be central to our society and to our identities.

We can see the effects of this belief everywhere: for example, the demonization of the unemployed and poor, the consensus goal being jobs for everyone, and the glorification of ‘hard-working families’. Everywhere, work is the dominant motif of our societies. Ultimately, the aim here needs to be a delinking of wages from work.

Human societies are rapidly reaching the point where there simply isn’t enough work to go around for everyone, even if that were a morally virtuous goal.

Everywhere there are symptoms of a rising surplus population – the unemployed, the underemployed, the precarious, and the absolute surplus indexed by global slums and mass incarceration. Society will have to face up to the problem of surplus populations and deindustrialisation sooner or later. And the basic parameters of that debate are either to manage and control the surplus populations (via mass incarceration, or spatial segregation in slums, or outright expulsion from society), or to work towards establishing a sustainable post-work society.

The latter goal would mean reducing the working week and mobilising around implementing a universal basic income. Those goals, I believe, are the only way forward...

Sepp Hasslberger's insight:

A very interesting look at what might come after our industrial society...

The connections between the nodes of GNU social are established by the users who follow each other. Through these “following” relationships, all nodes can communicate and form a network. It’s what’s known as “federation,” and could be understood as a network of agreements.

We believe it would be a mistake to replicate the centralized model and its culture. That would serve information without agreements between people, and therefore, approve of irresponsibility and encourage confrontation.

For us, GNU social’s priority should be on becoming the “Swiss Army knife” of distributed networks based on sharing, by developing a culture of socialization based on trust within the nodes and the responsibility for understanding what is being talked about when someone joins a conversation. And for that, the key is to connect through federation, as has been done so far, on the basis of the minimum responsibility that comes with the fact that, to be an equal on another node, someone from that node has to considers what I say interesting enough to follow me.

Sepp Hasslberger's insight:

Las Indias about changing the way social networks are configured ... to get more meaningful relations and conversations - will it work?

The best thing to happen to the human race in the last 50 years is an open protocol. Because the best thing to happen to the human race in the last 50 years is the Internet and the Internet is an open protocol.

Why aren't we talking more about open protocols? Why aren't we getting up in the morning and creating more open protocols?Why aren't we trying to make more of these "best" things happen for the human race?

Why do so few of us even know what an open protocol is? Why are we not being told? Why are open protocols not being taught as the number one subject in our schools? Why, when we have a great idea, do we instantly say, "I'll make a website and bring loads of people to my website and get them all to interact"?

Why don't we say, "I'll create an open protocol and thereby foster the creation of a whole ecosystem of applications and devices all talking to each other and assisting humans to be more efficient and have more time for fun in their lives"? Why is there so little funding for creating open protocols? Hmm?

You see, the Internet isn't magic and it didn't get created by magic nor chance. There's a clear reason why it works. It was designed to do the job it does – it was engineered into existence. There was a goal. There was a vision. And people set to work to build that vision. They brought it to reality with intention. It was created from thought. And we can do this too. Again and again. We can create more efficiency, more interoperability and more harmony in all sectors of our lives and work. We can build glue so that systems can work with each other (and are more interoperable) no matter what the application, operating system, device or manufacturer. And what do we do with all the time left over from us all being more efficient? We can have more fun, of course!

Open protocols enable us to have more control over our lives because we can't be locked into any one vendor. Email is an open protocol. The Internet (as in TCP/IP) is an open protocol. The Web (as in HTTP and HTML) is an open protocol. MIDI is an open protocol. And there are loads of other open protocols that we use every day. But Facebook and Twitter are not open protocols – they are closed systems that lock us in. But we can do way better than this. We can create open protocols that have exactly the same functionality as the closed systems that we love and use so much.

What would happen if we could just friend/connect to our friends/contacts just once and didn't have to use a third party website to do that? What would happen if we could find *all* the people offering services and things that we want rather than just who is connected to the same service, website or mailing list? What would happen if we could manage *all* of our newsletter subscriptions in one place? What would happen if we only ever had to enter our personal information once and then just point people/websites to it – rather than having to keep entering the same old information time and time again? What would happen if we had a list (in one place) of all the people/websites that had access to our personal information and we were able to remove certain privileges at will, instantly? What would happen if all computing was "user centric" rather than being "service centric"? What would happen if all our data that we create was owned by us and was portable between any service provider we choose?

How much time could we all save? How much could that reduce hassle that we have in our lives? How much more secure could we be? How much more freedom would this give us?

Let's create more open protocols and let's get industry to support and use more open protocols.

Sepp Hasslberger's insight:

We should learn from how the internet itself was built, and demand more of it ... instead of falling into traps - privately owned "walled gardens" that call themselves social networks.

“THE internet is stuffed with garbage. Anti-vaccination websites make the front page of Google, and fact-free ‘news’ stories spread like wildfire. Google has devised a fix – rank websites according to their truthfulness.”

Great idea, right?

Sure it is.

The author of the article lets the cat out of the bag right away with his comment about “anti-vaccination” websites...

Sepp Hasslberger's insight:

Google can, to a large extent, determine what you get to see on the internet, if you use the search engine.

Search results have long been slanted to favour government and certain other sites and commercial interests (Google's advertising customers).

But now there will be a new slant to Google ranking. Does the site pass the official consensus test, does it conform what the "authorities" say?

A new report published by the upper house of UK parliament—the House of Lords—has called for Internet access to be reclassified as a public utility.

Further, the report says that the UK is falling behind other countries when it comes to both high-speed Internet access (i.e., new fiber-to-the-home and fiber-to-the-node deployments) and universal Internet access—two factors that could significantly affect the UK's ability to compete in the still-rapidly-growing international digital economy.

The House of Lords' call for UK Internet access to be reclassified as a public utility is very similar to the conversation surrounding Title II reclassification of ISPs in the US. "We conclude that the Government should define the Internet as a utility service, available for all to access and use," reads the summary of the House of Lords report.

In her talk, April Rinne, Chief Strategy Officer, Collaborative Lab illustrates how the collaborative economy (which includes "the sharing economy") has the potential to transform the way we design products and services, create sustainable and "shareable" cities, re-imagine public services, reduce waste and connect communities.

Sepp Hasslberger's insight:

New ways of putting things to use, share assets we have, unlock wealth we didn't even know was there and in the process connect with others.

Andreas Karitzis, member of Syriza’s think tank on digital policies and a candidate MP in the ongoing elections, recently wrote an article in the Greek version of the Huffington Post highlighting the commitment of his party to free/open source technologies, transparency and participatory democracy.

Mr. Karitzis claims that Syriza will support the adoption of free/open source software in the public sector and the distribution of public data under Commons-based licenses.

It is true that from program to implementation, several steps are required, however the first step seems to have been made: Syriza appears to not only be aware of the advantages of free/open source technologies but also to realize the potential and the new political economy of this emerging proto-mode of production.

If Andreas Karitzis has won the election [I don't know] and if he is allowed to implement his concepts to free/open source technologies, transparency and participatory democracy, it'd be a game changer in Europe.

The entrepreneurial activities that are created around the commons induce the vision of an ethical economy, a non-capitalist marketplace that re-introduces reciprocity and co-operation in the market’s functioning, while co-creating commons and creating livelihoods for the commoners.

This type of economy and market in which co-operation, mutuality, and the common good define the characteristics of a new kind of political economy, point the way to a new state form, which we have called the Partner State.

Thus, the commons not only introduces a third term next to the state and the market, i.e. the generative, commons-producing civil society, but also a new market and a new state. A foundation principle of a Commons Transition Plan is that the changes must happen concurrently in all three aspects of our social and economic life.

Sepp Hasslberger's insight:

The commons has been neglected in our capitalist society. We will have to re-build it.

Give the Like a rest and see what happens. Choose to comment with words. Watch how your feed changes. I haven’t used the Like on Facebook since August 1st, and the changes in my feed have been so notably positive that I won’t be liking anything in the foreseeable future.

Sepp Hasslberger's insight:

Interesting article. Facebook's algorithm seems to be "fed" mostly by the Like button. Not using it might give us a more balanced view of what's out there...

Facebook is a safety valve: “Here, people, now you can star in your own media creation. Reveal mundane details about your lives and share them with other FB stars.”

The award-winning 2010 film, The Social Network, is a fictional representation of Facebook’s creation. At the heart of the film is a legal/money struggle over FB’s ownership. In other words, the film is a melodrama about who profits from a meaningless business that allows audience to become small-time actor.

Facebook is The Truman Show happening on the Internet. “Celebrate your lives under the dome by connecting with other inhabitants—picnic photos, vacation videos, all the acceptable details of a fabricated existence…"

Can technology help communities become more responsive to their citizens? A report from a town that’s ahead of the curve.

For the last four years, a town in southern Spain has been conducting a remarkable experiment in civic life. Jun (pronounced “hoon”) has been using Twitter as its principal medium for citizen-government communication. Leading the effort is Jun’s Mayor, José Antonio Rodríguez Salas, a passionate believer in the power of technology to solve problems and move society forward.

In the most basic scenario, a citizen who has a question, request or complaint tweets it to the mayor or one of his staff, who work to resolve the matter.

Jun citizens also use Twitter to voice their views on local issues. At town council meetings, which are streamed live on the web, those not physically present may participate by tweeting questions and comments, which appear on a screen in the council chamber.

Sepp Hasslberger's insight:

Social media can help to bring city administrators and their personnel closer to the concerns of the citizens...

Shock and austerity. Stock market instability. Stagnant wages and the decline of purchasing power. War. Climate change. Despite these multiplying crises, capitalism retains an essential tool that allows it to perpetuate itself on a global level despite its internal contradictions: the ability to leverage technological developments to liquidate the political power of those who would oppose it.

At such a crossroads, when labor as an organized force is being dissolved into flexible precarity, how does one attempt to tip the scales and reverse our accelerating fragility?

The answer lies in a shift of focus, from a politics of power to a politics that looks critically at infrastructure, a politics of re-purpose, (re-)design, appropriation and the reclamation of space, and of new forms of economic expression.

Whatever the future will be, or whatever name we want to label the path to it, there is one realization that is facing us: it must be post-capitalist. We firmly believe that another world is possible, but it must be built, and the rules and programs for this construction are still largely unwritten...

Sepp Hasslberger's insight:

An effort to bring people and agencies together to figure out how we want the future to be organised...

A mesh network creates reliable and redundant wireless internet access. Instead of relying on a wired access point to the internet like a traditional network, a mesh network uses wireless radio nodes that speak to each other, thus creating decentralized wireless access points.

Because a mesh network does not have to communicate through a central organization (like an ISP), if one node goes down the network will self heal — allowing service to continue without interruption.

Within a mesh network, only one node needs to be hardwired. All the other nodes, of which there could be hundreds, do not require direct access to the internet, just access to the mesh network itself.

Sepp Hasslberger's insight:

The idea is good. A local network that can carry its own traffic and that provides a gateway to the wider internet.

Local networks can be more reliable in case of trouble, and less expensive than everyone buying their own internet connection.

Can you feel something stirring? Can you feel the rustle of the leaves, the rumble beneath your feet, the tremble in your legs, the beating in your chest? Can you feel that something is about to erupt?

"We are searching for an alternative way of doing things, free from the violence, corruption, fear, oppression, injustice, poverty, consumerism, the abuse of power and the destruction of nature of “the mainstream”. Weare seeking an alternative system of true freedom, dignity and equality and a life in peace with ourselves, in peace with each other and in peace with Mother Earth. We are creating an alternative way for our big family of human beings to organise ourselves, to live in oneness with nature and to fulfil the basic needs of everyone."

"One of the most radical things you can do to affect change in the world right now is to grow your own food. There is no need to fight “the system”, just grow your own organic food, become as independent as possible and let “the system” fight itself."

"Openness is a fundamental rainbow principle. We are all rainbows, we are all the colours of the rainbow, we are everyone. We are the full range of diversity yet we are one. We are autonomous individuals and we are dedicated community members. We want to live in freedom from rules that we have not chosen ourselves. We cannot accept hierarchies and elitism. We are all of equal worth. We literally see our fellow human beings as our brothers and sisters and we cannot differentiate their value. Our communities are as open as our hearts. We do not solve problems with exclusion. Any solution for the world must include everyone."

"We believe all land should in the end be returned to its rightful owner – Mother Earth. Human beings can live on, care for, responsibly cultivate and protect pieces of land but not claim to own them. We believe the term “no man’s land” is indeed the correct one. No man’s land. We want to return the status of all lands to Terra Nullius."

"In essence, Terra Nullius are open, borderless and ownerless pieces of land where all the creatures of Mother Earth are free to roam within the limits of sustainability."

"We are sending out an urgent call to expert lawyers to help realise the vision of the global Terra Nullius social movement. We also need a team of web designers to start working on giving us the web presence that will help unite us all.

We request the support of communities, businesses and individuals. It is time to take a step into the unknown."

This course will be of interest to activists and practitioners in social change movements; to policy makers interested in new forms of governance and public/social partnerships; to academics and students interested in the relations between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and social change; and to practitioners and advocates in the co-operative, commons, and sustainability movements.

In the first part of this course, we will introduce the economics of the commons and peer production, and other forms of the ‘collaborative economy’ (Michel Bauwens), as well as the innovative forms that the revival of the co-operative and solidarity economy have taken after the crisis (John Restakis).

In the second part of the course, we will move to policy and political concerns, as well as the logic and outline of the commons transition itself, based on the ground-breaking experience in Ecuador around the transition to a ‘social knowledge economy’.

Paul Walsh argues that the success of Syriza has much in common with Spain's Podemos and Scotland's Radical Independence Campaign.

One thing that unites new political animals such as Syriza, Podemos and Scotland’s Radical Independence Campaign (RIC) is their ability to capture and mobilise young people. The charge that the Facebook generation are apathetic and apolitical doesn’t hold here. To be sure, unemployment is a key factor in Spain and Greece.

Why ‘peer-to-peer populists’? Because the young people who form the backbone of these new movements have grown up with the internet and peer-to-peer file-sharing: they know the difference between a torrent and a tweet, abyteand ablock chain.

Peer-to-peer networks also require no intermediate authority – the users themselves maintain, propagate and repair the network. Power and responsibility is decentralised to the hive.

Powered by a younger generation tired of austerity and neoliberalism, the ‘peer-to-peer populists’ are responding to the economic crisis and shaping a new political project.

Project SAFE (Secure Access For Everyone) aims to create a decentralized and secure Internet 2.0 (here is a whitepaper).

The SAFE Networkis a secure and fully decentralized data management service. The network is made up from the unused computer resources provided by the network users.

By providing resources, users earn Safecoins - a digital currency that can be used to access network services. The SAFE Network also supports distributed applications that can be accessed (for free or paid) by the network users.

More information about what it is and how it works at

http://systemdocs.maidsafe.net/content/what_it_is/README.html

Sepp Hasslberger's insight:

They have been working on it for years and it seems ready to go now...

I believe that the SAFE network could be our chance of re-making the internet from the bottom up, using our own resources instead of centralised servers for our data and our communications.

In that time the People of the Internet — you and me and all our friends of friends of friends, unto the last Kevin Bacon — have made the Internet an awesome place, filled with wonders and portents.

From the serious to the lolworthy to the wtf, we have up-ended titans, created heroes, and changed the most basic assumptions about how Things Work and Who We Are.

But now all the good work we've done together faces mortal dangers.

When we first came before you, it was to warn of the threat posed by those who did not understand that they did not understand the Internet.

These are The Fools, the businesses that have merely adopted the trappings of the Internet.

Now two more hordes threaten all that we have built for one another...

Sepp Hasslberger's insight:

You might have heard of the original Cluetrain Manifesto. If so, you will appreciate these new clues. If not, here's your chance to catch up.

"Fifteen years ago, four of us got together and posted The Cluetrain Manifesto which tried to explain what most businesses and much of the media were getting wrong about the Web. These New Clues come from two of the authors of that manifesto, and of the book that followed."

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